Cruise ship emissions

Caroline Russell: A constituent has contacted me with concerns that the Port of London Authority (PLA) is using the Greenwich Ship Tier as way of supporting cruise ships. Cruise ships at this tier are emitting large volumes of pollution. What actions are you taking to combat the pollution from this source?

The Mayor: The current system has a number of regulators that play a role in policing emissions for different classes and uses of vessels on the Thames. As Mayor, I don’t have the powers to effectively tackle non-road pollution sources in the capital. I believe do believe however, that London needs the necessary powers to effectively combat these harmful emissions on the River Thames and the canal network. That is whyI will continue to call on Government to do their part to improve this fragmented system and to give London the powers it needs to ensure that the emissions from vessels using London’s waterways can be addressed.
It is important that vessels using the river play their part in reducing emissions and improving air quality. I will continue to encourage cleaner vessels to use the waterways by working with wharf and pier operators to help introduce tiered fees for the cleanest vessels, similar to the PLA’s Green Tariff scheme. I will encourage new and refurbished wharves, piers and canal moorings to generate renewable power onsite. Where appropriate, shore power or refuelling facilities for low emission fuels should be provided for all vessels moored onsite.
My Deputy Mayor for Transport, Heidi Alexander, is in regular contact with the PLA and at her last meeting discussed river emissions with them. I have asked her to raise this specific issue with them at her next meeting.

Delays on the London Underground caused by overcrowding

Caroline Pidgeon: Please publish a table showing for each tube line the number of incidents of tube delays of 2 minutes or more attributed to overcrowding for each year since 2012.

The Mayor: London Underground typically runs over 96 per cent of its scheduled services. The table below shows the number of crowding/congestion incidents by line, which have caused delays of two minutes or more between 2011-12 and 2019-20. Over this period there has been an increase in passenger journeys on the Tube network, from 1.17 billion in 2011/12 to 1.38 billion in 2018/19.
Transport for London (TfL) has put in place a number of measures to address the increase in delays due to congestion. This includes appointing congestion leads for each line and facilitating congestion workshops with staff. These workshops are used to share best practice, while also developing and trialling new location-specific methods to reduce congestion. Each station also has a Station Congestion Control & Emergency Plan in place, to ensure the safe management of congestion and crowding.
TfL is now running more services, which will help to reduce congestion as it will increase capacity On the Victoria line, TfL is running 36 trains per hour, the most frequent train service in the country and one of the most frequent in the world. TfL has also increased peak time services on both the Jubilee and Northern lines, with further capacity improvements planned.
TfL will deliver state-of-the-art signalling on the Circle, District, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, significantly increasing capacity at peak times. TfL will also move forward with the modernisation of the Piccadilly line, beginning with new trains to provide more comfortable and reliable journeys.
Line
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
2014-15
2015-16
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20*
Bakerloo
12
16
15
24
13
21
16
46
14
Hammersmith & City
10
8
13
13
10
9
4
11
4
Central
55
13
15
28
42
41
56
35
39
District
36
26
15
19
15
8
6
14
12
Jubilee
32
27
42
48
86
84
62
108
75
Metropolitan
2
3
0
3
2
5
6
7
5
Northern
16
11
12
31
35
46
47
56
62
Piccadilly
29
15
30
8
29
26
27
42
34
Victoria
16
33
30
60
64
104
114
217
117
Waterloo & City
0
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
* 2019-20 includes data up to 04 January 2020